Photo Shoot
by Lushcoltrane
Summary: A celebrity photographer wants to shoot Tori and her significant other. Disclaimer: Victorious and its characters are the property of Schneider's Bakery and Nickelodeon. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. No profit is inte


Disclaimer: Victorious and its characters are the property of Schneider's Bakery and Nickelodeon. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. No profit is intended or wanted for this story.

* * *

"Hey Babe," Jade called out as she walked into her house. Actually, it was the carriage house above her parents' garage – a large, two-bedroom with a study, a living room, kitchen, dining area and a full bathroom, including a separate shower and Jacuzzi-type bathtub. Thanks to Jade's grandfather wanting a four-car garage, there was plenty of room. Jade took the study and the other bedroom was for her significant other. Who now greeted her…

"Hi Sweetie," Tori replied as she lounged on the couch in the living room. She was going over notes about her upcoming album and tour. "How was the meeting?"

"I think the studio is good with it. They like my story and I think they'll agree to me directing too. Didn't hurt that Del Toro liked the story too."

"Benicio Del Toro? The actor?" Tori asked as Jade sat next to her.

"No, ya dope! Guillermo. He made the Hellboy movies, _Pan's Labyrinth, Pacific Rim_ and the TV series _The Strain_ \- from his own novels."

"Oh, that Del Toro! Yeah, _The Strain_ was that show about the vampires wiping out civilization?" Jade nodded. "That was pretty creepy. I liked that show."

"Yeah, I'm pretty pumped right now. So, since I need to get back down to earth, what's new with you?"

Tori sneered at her woman then said, "The studio wants me to meet some photographer. He's supposed to shoot me recording then promoting the album. And some of the concerts."

Jade asked, "Who? Anyone special?"

"I dunno. I never heard of him but the studio seems to be hyped on him."

"Who?"

"Well, Mason and his assistant and…"

"NO! Not the studio, you goof! Who is the photographer?" Jade asked, exasperation in her voice. Then she whispered, "God, there are times I'm sure I married a low-grade moron…"

"HEY! I heard that!"

"Well, the sweetest low-grade moron anywhere," Jade said in her special Tori voice. Then she added, "And the hottest!" Jade smiled a certain way and the last remnants of Tori's anger melted. Then she repeated the question. "Who? Who. Is. The. Photographer?"

"Um, Danny Clinch?"

"Danny Clinch! The Danny Clinch?! Holy shit, Vega!"

"What? Am I missing something?"

Snarkily, Jade replied, "Uh, yee-ah! This man is a legend. He's been photographing the biggest names in music for decades. He started working with Annie Leibowitz. In '99. Bob Dylan asked him to shoot him. Then Springsteen. He's really good friends with the Boss now too. This guy has taken pictures of everyone from Tupac Shakur to Tony Bennett to Dave Grohl to… He took pictures of Sir Paul McCartney for God's sake!"

"Wow. I had no idea…"

"If you are his subject, you are made in the industry, baby girl."

Jade got up and held her arms out, wiggling her fingers. "C'mon, give Mama a squeeze…"

Tori got up and stepped into Jade's embrace, "That's my line, you know."

Slowly breaking the embrace, Jade pulled up her PearPad Infiniti and did a search for Clinch's pictures. She found his official website and clicked on the photos link. Pics of Eddie Vedder, Dylan, Gregg Allman, Johnny Cash, concert shots of the Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, the E Street Band with the late, great Clarence Clemons. Candid pictures, concert pictures, posed pictures.

"Look at this one," Tori said, pointing to a picture of Johnny Cash backstage. "This is a great image of the loneliness of the tour." Then she pointed out the picture of Stevie Nicks, "Look at that wistful look…"

Sarcastically Jade replied, "She always has a wistful look…"

There was a separate section of pictures just of Springsteen. Another section of Grammy Ceremony backstage pictures. "I love this one."

Jade was pointing to a picture of David Grohl, the front man for the Foo Fighters and former Pearl Jam member, with Sir Paul McCartney, arms over each other's shoulders. Grohl had a big grin while pointing to the legend who had a humorous look of surprise.

"What's this Cuba link?"

Jade clicked on it and there were several pictures of Havana from the last days of the American embargo. Pictures of the old, 1950's vintage cars still working, people and their homes, street scenes and amateur sports. "I remember seeing this on _60 Minutes_. Back in 2015 or '16, he went with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Cuba. He spent time at the shows and behind the scenes but also in the streets meeting the people and digging the old classic cars that they managed to keep running for over fifty years after the U.S. halted any shipments to the country.

"He loves classic cars. And I mean real classics from the '40s and '50s. If he poses you in his '49 Pontiac Silver Streak, I will blow that up to ridiculous size and cover the entire wall in the living room with it."

Jade searched a bit more and found some pictures of Springsteen sitting on the bumper of, then behind the wheel of, a classic 1940s sedan. "There! That's his car. Clinch's, not the Boss's. The Silver Streak!"

"Wow, I had no idea!" Tori suddenly got quiet and, while already sitting, fell back heavily onto the couch.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I don't… I'm not like these people! I'm just Tori Vega, a pop star. These people are…legends. They're the elite in music. I'm just…"

"So was Gaga before she teamed with Bennett. And Sam Smith was only a popstar. You're on your way, Vega. Why do you think Thornesmith wants this? He sees what you will become. And Danny Clinch wouldn't agree to this if he didn't think it was worthwhile."

Jade sat back next to her wife and pulled her into her arms. Kissing Tori softly, Jade said, "I see it too."

The haunted look left Tori's face and she smiled, "Thanks, babe."

* * *

A few days later, Tori came home with a skip in her step. "Okay, Susie Sunshine, what's going on?"

"Jade, I met him. Danny Clinch. He's a great guy. I was nervous and he told me to be cool. And I was cool. He was cool. We were cool."

"So you were cool."

Jade's sarcasm was lost on Tori as she went on, "He said he was just a guy with a camera. And to call him Danny.

"It was so cool!"

"Enough with the cool! Anyway, that's great, Vega. When's he gonna start shooting you?"

"He already did. Took some of me in front to Mason's wall of gold records and a few in one of the recording studios. I sat on a stool in front of a microphone and just smiled, or leaning on a mixing board. There were other poses with instruments and even some in the park across the street. It was great!"

"I'm happy for you Tori."

"Oh, and Jade?" Those stunning eyes settled on Tori. "Thanks for not saying 'I told you so.'"

"Don't need to. It's implied…" Jade chuckled.

"Oh. And Jade?"

"You said that already."

"I… No I didn't… Okay maybe I did… But… Shut up!"

Jade was laughing now and Tori's perplexed expression amped up even more before it melted and she joined in.

Finally, Jade was able to say, "Okay. So, the second 'And Jade?'"

"Danny wants to take pictures of both of us. Here at home and maybe at Warner Bros."

"Huh? What? He what?"

"I said he wants to get pictures of both of us. Danny said he loves the more intimate shots of…"

"Wait! Intimate? What the hell does that…"

"JADE! Calm down. It's not like that. Intimate as in us just together in our home. Relaxed and showing we're like everyone else. Like the ones he did of Bruce and Patti."

"Bruce and Patti? As in Springsteen?"

"Yep!"

"Don't let this go to your head just yet, Vega. You don't even know them."

"Actually, I met them today. They were…"

"YOU MET SPRINGSTEEN?!"

"It was a bizarre fluke. He was meeting Mason about a possible duet with…"

"Don't say you!"

"No, Jade, not me," Tori said with a laugh. "But he was so cool. I wish I knew more about his music…"

"Oh my God… You met the Boss and don't even know his music? GOD! SAVE ME FROM MY IDIOT GIRLFRIEND!"

"HEY! I know some of his stuff! Like _Born To Run_ – practically have that memorized considering how many times you play the cd. Or _Darkness On The Edge Of Town_ …"

"Tell me you got his autograph."

"No but Mason promised me one."

"Cool… Wait, what was that about intimate pictures of us?"

"When Danny and I ran into Bruce and Patti, he said he wanted to shoot us together."

"Us?! But we're not like everyone else, Vega. Definitely not like Br…Springsteen and his wife!"

"Jade, it's the 2020s. Gay is cool. Right now, lesbian is really cool. Again. Not to mention, it's accepted more and more."

"Jeezus! It's not that."

"Then what?"

"You are going to be TORI VEGA! I'm just jade west. I'm barely an assistant to an assistant director." Jade's tone emphasized the lower case in her name.

"Oh my God! You did that awesome indie flick that won at Sundance!"

"It was a short. Barely as long as a Three Stooges short."

"But scary as hell! You had to hold me for over an hour after I saw it."

"You and I both know the real reason I held you. And it was two hours."

"Jade, you're an up and comer! Danny wants you in the pictures. Between Benecio Del Toro producing your new movie and the photo shoot…this may be what will give you the boost you've been looking for,"

"Guillermo, not Benecio! Jeez… Anyway, Vega, he shoots rock stars, not movie wannabes."

"Havana. Rock star? No. Classic cars. Rock star? No. Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Rock star? Okay, that one doesn't really count… They are music legends. But you get my point?"

"The one on top of your head?"

Tori slapped Jade's head, "No!"

Then Jade swore, "Goddamnit! That really hurt!"

"Aaaw… My poor baby," Tori murmured as she kissed the top of Jade's head. "So, you in?"

Jade sighed loudly. "Oy vey!"

Tori looked puzzled, "Jade, you're not Jewish…"

"Neither was Fuji on _McHale's Navy_!" Jade gawked at Tori's blank look then shook her head, muttering, "Damn, Vega…"

In truth, after either of them spent a lot of time away from home – Jade for her movies and Tori her music – they would spend a day or three watching old TV shows or movies on various classic cable channels. For some reason, Jade fell in love with _McHale's Navy_ – especially Tim Conway and Joe Flynn. (Naturally, Tori was more into the musicals but still found plenty of amusement in old comedy and was enthralled by noir movies.)

Sensing what she thought was reluctance on Jade's part, Tori asked her wife, "Jade, is this about Danny wanting to shoot us?"

"Not us, me."

"Why? You are easily the more beautiful of the two of us."

"Trying to get me into bed, Vega? Cause you know how I feel about the truth…" Jade replied, her eyes mischievous.

"NO!" Tori yelped, red-faced. "I…I mean, no. I mean, I'd love to but… Right now… I mean… I want… You… I… Shut up!"

"Wow, a new record for the longest stream of stream-of-conscious phrases before your patented 'shut up'!"

"Jaaade!"

Holding up her hands, Jade said, "Okay, I'll stop. For now. But back to this picture business…"

"Please? If he takes a really sexy picture of you, I'll blow it up to cover the wall of the bedroom…"

"All of my pictures are sexy," Jade countered. Then she said, "And you will NOT! I'm not Trina!"

* * *

After bidding Danny good-bye, Tori walked back into the living room. "See? It wasn't so bad…"

"Nah, Danny's really cool. I hope he's right about the pictures."

"Well, if Mason is any judge… Quiet, Jade! Anyway, he loved the pictures he's seen so far."

Jade sidled up to her wife. "You know, being photographed by a world-class genius has me all kinds of turned on…"

Tori smiled wickedly, "Yeah? Well, guess I need to see what I can do about that. After all, it's the least I can do since I talked you into this…"

"Less talking, Vega! There are better things those lips and tongue can be doing…" Jade muttered before sealing her mouth over Tori's.

* * *

Note: Danny Clinch is a real, and very talented, photographer. Do a google search to see some of the fabulous work he's done, including some of the pictures mentioned specifically above.


End file.
